(PRWEB) May 18, 2015
ApneaRx® http://www.apnearx.com developed by Apnea Sciences (Aliso Viejo, California) is a low cost prefabricated oral appliance (OA). In a study conducted at Kaiser Fontana, California, ApneaRx demonstrated that when a patient had a positive clinical response with ApneaRx the same patient also had a similar response when they tried the more expensive dental lab fabricated custom OA.
According to the article “Economics of Oral Appliances” in the recent edition of the Sleep Diagnostic and Therapy Journal, http://www.sleepscholar.com/the-economics-of-oral-appliance-therapy-for-sleep-apnea/ CPAP has been the gold standard for treating obstructive sleep apnea, but custom oral appliances (OAs) have been gaining momentum and increased respect from the medical community. The key challenge to the growth of custom OA therapy is that neither the patient, nor MD knows if it will be clinically effective until they have spent $2,000-$4,000 for the treatment. Sleep care professionals have been looking for a predictive device to help determine, if custom OA therapy is suitable for their patients. Such a device could save patients and the healthcare system considerable dollars.
Dennis Hwang, MD, Sleep Director of Kaiser Fontana in California, is one step closer to the answer. Hwang’s poster entitled “Feasibility Pilot Evaluating the Use of Pre-fabricated Titratable Mandibular Advance Device for the Management of Obstruction Sleep Apnea” was presented at the 2014 Associated Professional Sleep Society convention. The study demonstrated a 56% responder rate (AHI: 50% reduction and ≤15) with 117 screened sleep apnea patients. More importantly, it also showed virtually 100% positive predictive value and mimicked the clinical results with the first 13 patients who tried custom OAs.
According to the article, Hwang and colleagues looked at several different prefabricated devices before choosing the ApneaRx for its ease of fitting the patient. “There were some others where it took 45 minutes to an hour for us to fit each patient,” says Huang. “With ApneaRx we were able to prepare the device and fit the patient in 5 to 10 minutes. These ‘provider friendly’ aspects, combined with easy calibration advancement of the mandible, outweighed the occasional difficulty of fitting some patient with small jaws.” http://www.apnearx.com/faqs/
Dr. Hwang also agreed that ApneaRx could be used in a semi-permanent fashion with some limitations. He points out, “The prefabricated device does not last as long as the custom, so we would need to have one remade on an annual basis. Another clinical use is for patients who are going camping and are not able to bring CPAP, they could use the prefab during their travels.”
With a prescription, ApneaRx can be easily purchased online from http://www.cpapplus.com
ApneaRx is distributed to medical providers by CareFusion and can be contacted at 800 582 7458 or tiarasales(at)carefusion(dot)com; or Pat Maley at pmaley(at)apneasciences(dot)com